New intermodal link between China and Serbia
In spite of the political and economic turmoil caused by the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, the container trains between China and Europe are still running via the Polish intermodal hub in Małaszewicze. Furthermore, new rail freight connections are being launched. Among the latest developments is the new freight train route between China and Serbia.
In late July 2022, Metrans delivered containers loaded with various goods from the Chinese city of Wuhan to the Pančevo Dry Port Terminal, close to the Serbian capital of Belgrade. The Czechia-based intermodal operator is running the new train connection on behalf of its partner, TE Bahnoperator. The delivery time between Wuhan and TE Bahnoperator is 18 days by using the conventional route of the New Silk Road via Russia and Belarus.
“Even under challenging conditions, Metrans keeps providing innovative solutions and routings on the New Silk Road”, the Czech company stated. It was responsible for transhipping containers at its CL Europort terminal in Małaszewicze and moving them via Poland, Czechia, Slovakia and Hungary. The transport on the Serbian section of the route was performed by Kombinovani Prevoz, a major Serbian rail freight private operator. At the Pančevo Dry Port Terminal, the boxes were reloaded to trucks for the last-mile journey to final customers.
First train to Serbia
The Wuhan- Pančevo route is a new link in a series of intermodal connections between China and Serbia. It is worth noting that the first train between the two countries was launched almost three years ago, in late October 2019. That connection was arranged by China Railway Express and Serbia Cargo (Srbija Kargo), the national rail freight operator of Serbia. It linked the city of Jinan in the province of Shangdong with Belgrade, also via the conventional route. The transit time took almost a month to cross a distance of around 10,500 kilometres. The first China-Serbia train moved a special cargo: it delivered equipment for the construction of the Budapest-Belgrade high-speed line.